MMA fighter Chris Price has opened up on his struggles with autism ahead of his Cage Warriors debut this Saturday.
He takes on Michal Folc at Cage Warriors 152 at the BEC Arena in Manchester, England on a card that includes Chris Bungard, Nathan Fletcher, and current lightweight champion George Hardwick.
Currently a 4-0 professional, the 25-year-old has fought his way through the amateur ranks to get to this stage.
Price has gone through his career while suffering with autism, he was diagnosed with the condition when he was three years old.
In an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK, Price talked about growing up with autism.
Chris Price Opens up Ahead of Cage Warriors Debut
He said: “When I was a kid I didn’t know I had autism really, I was only aware when I got a bit older and I figured out I had something up with me. Obviously, you don’t wanna tell your child there’s something up with them when you’re really young.
“Growing up with it, I’d get a lot of obsessions when I was a kid. I’d have a lot of phases, I’d know everything about a topic – that’s a big thing with autism, you end up getting into something and just know everything about that subject. So I really loved Star Wars, and still do love Star Wars, that’s something I’m doing a bit at the minute because I’m chilling out this week I’m watching a lot of Disney+, watching a lot of Star Wars. Yeah, I just had loads of mad things that I liked.
“I just wasn’t a normal kid though, other kids would be into stuff like football and I wasn’t really into sport when I was little, I wasn’t a very active person, I was hyperactive and used to get into all sorts of mischief but I wasn’t very active in terms of sport or competing with other kids. I was just a bit of a loser really, a bit of a geek.”
The Manchester Predators fighter also spoke about how MMA has positively helped his autism.
How Mixed Martial Arts Has Changed His Life
He said: “As an autistic person, like I said earlier, you get obsessed with topics and MMA has got a massive amount of topics within it. There’s about five or six whole martial arts within MMA that you’ve got to study, so it keeps me, almost, going on adventures into these different martial arts and learning constantly and that’s what I like about it. It’s like I’m constantly developing and learning, it never gets boring.
“Also, a big one for me is it [MMA] was a positive way, an easy way of me learning to be more sociable because [in] other aspects of my life, I’ve struggled socially really bad. That’s a big one that a lot of people don’t understand about autism, you struggle making friends, you struggle holding relationships with other people, and you just don’t think like other people and it just makes things a bit difficult.
“A lot of people think I’m chatting sh*t when I say this, but it [autism] makes you very, very shy, so a lot of the time I come across very confident but really I’m not, I’m just really good at hiding that I’m shy as f*ck.”
Price has used his platform on Instagram as well as other forms of social media to raise awareness about autism.
Speaking on using his platform, Chris said: “It’s massive because I don’t know of a lot of openly autistic fighters or professional athletes. You don’t really hear about it that much, they’re not like massively open about it and I don’t know why that is. I don’t know whether it’s because they don’t wanna come across [as] weak, f*ck that, just be you and just show it. You’re no lesser of a man, if anything I think it helps.
[TW: Mention of suicide below]
“I am very, very proud and I really, really want to push positive awareness of autism. Mostly, I just want kids that have autism to know that they can achieve whatever the hell they want and there’s no blocks [that are] gonna stop them because a lot of kids with autism suffer [with] a lot of bullying.
“A lot of them end up getting involved with the wrong sh*t and they end up going to prison and, sadly, a lot of them end up k*lling themselves and it’s sickening – and it’s because of the way [that] society is.
“[But], I’m proud that I can push who I am and my autism through this platform and I’m really, really proud of that.”
Price on His Cage Warriors Debut
Price will take on Polish fighter Michal Folc at Cage Warriors 152 on Saturday night, marking his debut with the European promotion.
The Blackburn man mentioned that walking out with the iconic yellow gloves feels ‘a bit surreal’ and made a nod to his favourite fighters when discussing his upcoming fight.
He said: “The more I think about it, it really doesn’t feel real because I’m going to be fighting in the same cage and wearing the same gloves that a lot of my favourite fighters ever have worn.
“Conor McGregor wore those gloves and fought in that cage, Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, one of my teammates Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann. I’m gonna be going through the same exact process as these guys and hopefully I go on the same exact journey as these guys.
“It does feel a bit surreal to be honest. It’s not like I’m signed to the UFC though, let’s not look at it like a crazy, crazy achievement. Fighting on Cage Warriors, it’s amazing for me but the sky’s the limit – I’m gonna go further than this, I know it.”
Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Chris Price below:
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
